


There's Nothing Worse than Allergies

by waitingondaisies



Series: The Soup Universe [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cat allergy, Crack, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Imprisonment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22516498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waitingondaisies/pseuds/waitingondaisies
Summary: After an extensive conversation with Snape, Voldemort uncovers vital information that he can use to torture Harry with. Results may vary.
Relationships: Harry Potter & Tom Riddle, Harry Potter & Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Harry Potter & Voldemort
Series: The Soup Universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620049
Comments: 22
Kudos: 160





	There's Nothing Worse than Allergies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [duplicity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/duplicity/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Til Death Do Us Part](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22009465) by [duplicity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/duplicity/pseuds/duplicity). 



> y'all can blame amanda [(duplicity)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/duplicity/pseuds/duplicity) and my brain's utter determination to write 50k words last month for whatever the hell this is. you can also blame her for this being readable since she is my beta

Severus sighed and knocked on the door to Voldemort’s office. 

“Come in,” the sibilant voice within called. 

Severus pushed open the door. “You requested my presence, my lord?” 

“Yes,” Voldemort said, emphasizing the ‘s’. “I find myself in need of information. What I require from you, is for you to tell me everything you know about Potter.”

“Everything?” Severus asked, beginning to feel worried. Of course, he knew that Potter was Voldemort’s prisoner– everyone relevant to the war knew– but he’d hoped that Voldemort would refrain from involving him in the situation. 

“Everything,” Voldemort echoed firmly. 

Severus sighed and forced himself to martial his thoughts. He was here now, so he would have to comply, or else risk joining Potter in the dungeon. 

“Well, Potter is much like his father–” 

“I have no need for your personal issues,” Voldemort snapped, cutting Severus off. “Tell me about the things that matter. His likes and dislikes, for a start.” 

Severus was frozen for a long moment, unwilling to believe what he had just heard. Then he had to mentally scramble for an answer, searching for memories where Potter had expressed some kind of preference. Severus really didn’t have many of those, though, since Potter didn’t exactly like him. 

“Potter likes Quidditch and treacle tarts. He also hates Umbridge,” Severus listed. 

“Umbridge is…” Voldemort prompted. 

“You decapitated her out of boredom the other day, my lord.” 

“Unfortunate. I could have used her to torture Potter…” Voldemort gazed off distantly, but then his eyes snapped back to Severus. “Well?” he said sharply, gesturing with a hand. “Go on.” 

Severus had to dig deep into his head for more answers. “I have heard him mention that he hates Divination. He loves his little friends. I assume he dislikes cleaning cauldrons, but he tends to ignore me during his detentions, so it is difficult to say,” Severus said. It felt like he was scraping the bottom of the barrel, though, mainly because he had tried very hard over the years to avoid getting to know Potter. 

It was then that Severus glanced over at Voldemort and saw that the Dark Lord was scribbling notes onto a piece of parchment. 

After a moment, Voldemort looked up and said, “Is that all? I do believe I instructed you to tell me _everything._ ” 

Severus dove back into his memories related to Potter, searching for anything at all that would interest Voldemort. 

“Lily Evans was allergic to cats. I do not know if Potter is, but his mother was quite allergic,” Severus finally said. 

This queued another flurry of note taking. Severus waited, hoping that he would be dismissed soon.

Then, finally, Voldemort set the quill down and conjured a cat. A whole, living cat from nothing. He held the cat out at arms length, leaving the cat’s lower body to dangle through the air. 

“Excellent. This will help further my plans. You are dismissed,” Voldemort said. He was already halfway out of his office. 

Severus wondered if he ought to be more concerned. If Potter did have a cat allergy…

“Wait,” Severus said, which caused Voldemort to halt, whip around, and glare at him. “Do we not need Potter alive?” 

“I said you were dismissed,” Voldemort repeated, and then he hurried the rest of the way out of his office.

The press of concern Severus had felt grew even larger. He wandered out of Voldemort’s office, deciding that this conversation had become concerning enough for him to go and question Potter’s friends. 

* * *

Severus strode into the library at Grimmauld Place, where Potter’s two friends were gathered together. “Weasley. Granger. I have a question for the two of you.” 

“What did you need, Professor?” asked Granger.

Severus had to banish the mental image of Voldemort holding his newly-conjured cat at arms length before he could answer her. “Is Potter allergic to cats?”

“Yeah,” Weasley said. 

Of all the things for Potter to have inherited from Lily, it had to be her cat allergy. 

“Do you happen to know how severe this allergy is?” Severus asked.

Granger answered this time. “They make him miserable, and he sneezes a lot.” 

Just to be absolutely sure, Severus asked, “So his allergy is non-life-threatening?” 

“It is not life-threatening,” Granger said flatly. “What is this about?” 

“Nothing,” Severus responded quickly. Now that he knew Potter wasn’t going to die, he felt the weight of concern lift entirely from his chest. Thus reassured, he turned to leave Grimmauld Place once again. 

As he exited the room, he heard Granger say, “Professor Snape is so heartless. Harry is missing, and all he can think about is how to make him suffer once he gets back!”

* * *

Harry tossed a random stone he’d found at the wall and watched as it deflected. Then he got up and collected the stone so he could toss it again. Since his last interaction with Voldemort, Harry had been left mostly alone– aside from the occasional visit of Voldemort delivering more cursed food during mealtimes– and he was now desperately bored. 

So when Harry heard the sound of approaching footsteps, he perked up. If nothing else, the weird food provided some variety to his time in captivity. A hole appeared in the wall to the cell, and Voldemort stepped through, an oddly delighted grin on his face. 

Harry sneezed as he tried to look for a platter of some kind, but Voldemort’s hands were hidden behind his back. 

“Prepare yourself for the next round of torture, Potter,” Voldemort said.

Harry’s gut clenched properly this time. It seemed that his respite was over, and that Voldemort had finally decided to ‘play’ with him again. But then Harry realized this was unlike any of the other times Voldemort had decided to torture him– there was no audience, for one thing. And for another, Voldemort had never been the one to retrieve him prior to a torture session. Confusion began to dominate over fear, leaving Harry feeling, on average, wary and confused. 

“You are not preparing yourself,” Voldemort said flatly. 

“Er–” Harry said, not sure exactly what it was that he was supposed to be doing, and then he sneezed again. 

Voldemort sighed. Then, in a flurry of motion, his hands whipped around to reveal that he was holding a _cat_.

“Behold!” Voldemort exclaimed, as the cat dangled in front of him. 

Harry sneezed violently three times in a row. He rubbed at his nose frantically. “What. The fuck,” Harry said.

“Meet your new cellmate, Toodles the cat,” Voldemort said, setting the cat down onto the floor of the cell. 

Harry frowned and looked wildly between Voldemort and the cat. “Too–”

“There is no need for any of that,” Voldemort said defensively. “Bellatrix named him on my way down here.” 

This failed to relieve the overwhelming sense of surreality that was now encompassing Harry’s entire being. 

“I shall leave the two of you to get acquainted, now,” Voldemort said. And then he spun on his heel and exited Harry’s cell, replacing the wall behind him. 

Now alone with the cat– Toodles– Harry watched from his seat on the ground as the furry creature explored the confines of their cell. It was, if nothing else, something to watch, though Harry was fully aware that his allergies would quickly become insufferable if he was left here with it for too long. 

Eventually, during the course of its explorations, the cat decided to investigate Harry.

As soon as the cat set its paws on his knee, Harry sneezed violently, the force of the sneeze landing directly onto the cat. 

Toodles leapt away, arching its back as soon as it landed. It hissed angrily at Harry.

“Hey,” Harry said, his voice already nasally, “I hate this just– _ACHOO!–_ as much you do.” 

Toodles immediately stalked back over to Harry, climbing into his lap. 

Harry glared at it for a long moment, then glanced over at the small window in the corner of his cell. If he lifted his arms up over his head… he might be able to force the cat through the bars. 

And since the cat was insisting on being in contact with him anyways, it wasn’t like holding the cat up could make his allergies any worse. 

Plan decided on, Harry lifted the cat, gingerly grasping it underneath its front paws, and carried it over to the window. 

Harry quickly lost track of time after that as he struggled with the cat, the height of the window, and his ever-worsening allergies. 

Some indeterminable amount of time later, Harry was startled into dropping Toodles by the abrupt arrival of Voldemort. 

“Why, Potter, what did the poor cat ever do to you?” Voldemort asked.

Harry was forced to watch as Voldemort picked up Toodles, patting the cat in a manner that was probably meant to be comforting. 

By now, Harry’s eyes and nose were both streaming freely, and he knew, even without a mirror, that his eyes were bloodshot. 

“Someday,” Harry rasped out. “I _will_ kill you. _Both_ of you.” 

“I am sure you will,” Voldemort said, mocking. “In more pleasant news, I have someone else that I would like you to meet.” 

And seemingly from nowhere, Voldemort produced another cat. He was now holding two cats in his arms.

Harry released a flurry of sneezes.

“Meet Gluten,” said Voldemort.

The new cat immediately leapt out of Voldemort’s arms and began to approach Harry. 

Harry was already backed into the corner of his cell, and so he smushed himself back even further in a futile attempt to keep some distance between him and the new cat. 

“I will now take my leave, so that the three of you can get better acquainted,” Voldemort said, exiting the cell with a flourish, leaving Harry alone with his two torture devices.

As Gluten the cat rubbed its face against his legs, Harry said aloud to the empty cell, “I know I said I would never crack under torture, but this is a close thing.”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this in what was essentially a fever haze so idk fam tell me what you thought


End file.
